Games (Timeless Series) by Sandy Loyd Page B

What’s done is done. Giselle will find a husband in good time. All she needs to do is come across someone who not only plays her same game, but plays to win. Sooner or later, she’ll get caught in a web of her own making. When that happens, I just hope I’m not too old to enjoy my grandchildren or that I’m not deep in my grave.”
    ~~
    Later, after a nice lunch with her family, Giselle wandered outside and noticed her father down by the river target shooting. Pleased beyond measure because the two had spent many hours together while he taught her to shoot, she ran out to meet him.
    As she neared, he fired off his last round .
    “I see you still have a good eye, Papa . The hole in the target is not much bigger than a silver dollar, assuming you hit the target each time.”
    “I hit it dead on each time and you know it,” Marcus said, chuckling . “Let’s see if you’ve still got it.” He emptied the cartridges, loaded the six-shooter, and handed it to her. “Let me go and put up a new target so we’ll have no doubt as to who makes the holes in it.”
    Marcus strode out to the tree where the target was nailed, pulled it down , and put a new one in its place.
    When he trudged back to her side, he nodded . “Go ahead and give it a go.”
    Giselle took aim and fired the six rounds . Each shot made the small hole in the target a little bigger.
    Marcus laughed and shook his head. “Damn, you’ve improved. I don’t see how, given you never practice.”
    “You taught me well .” Laughter welled in her voice. “It seems so easy.”
    “ You just have a talent for it, my dear.” He was quiet while reloading. He carefully aimed and before firing, he asked, “So is Bradford Tyler still making his weekly visits?”
    Giselle watched a repeat of his earlier shots. When he finished, she nodded. “Yes. We are going riding tomorrow if the weather holds.”
    “He seems like a nice enough fellow . You two have been seeing each other for several months now. Dare we hope that things could become more serious?”
    “I do not know. I like him well enough,” Giselle stated honestly.
    “What about his feelings? Has he declared his intentions, or is he still being overly cautious?” Marcus held the firearm out to her.
    “ I have no idea what his intentions are. We never talk about it when he visits and I am happy with his company.” She took the gun and followed his movements, emptying the chambers and reloading. She took aim and made a hole about an inch above the center. With each shot, the hole got bigger. When she handed the gun back to her father, she asked, “How long did it take for you to know Mama was the one for you, Papa?”
    He shrugged and reloaded . “Your mother took me by surprise. I guess it wasn’t too much longer after we first met when I realized I was in over my head with her.”
    “Well, I do not feel that way about Bradford. I am not sure I will ever feel that way about him or anyone for that matter. I do like the attention, though.”
    Marcus smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling at the edges into deep lines . “I don’t think you can plan on falling in love. With the right person, it just happens. There wasn’t much I could do to keep from tumbling for your mother. And I have to tell you; love was the best thing to ever happen to me, even though at the time, I recall I was none too happy about it. You and Marguerite were the next best things to happen in my life.” He steadied his aim and shot. Then he handed the pistol over. “If it’s not there, you can’t manufacture it, and if it is there, you can’t avoid it.”
    “I want no less than what you and Mama have, but I am beginning to doubt I will ever find true love,” Giselle replied, smiling at him.
    Marcus remained silent, not adding to her comments as she reloaded and fired .
    The two shot at targets for another hour, during which time the talk turned to other things . They’d always been close, but now that Giselle was older, she